| Politicians on the right are backing an approach to the novel coronavirus that mainstream health experts have panned. They advocate achieving protection by ending restrictions and increasing exposure among healthy people. The path to so-called herd immunity is also likely one that would lead to hundreds of thousands more deaths in the U.S. alone, according to public-health experts. But with Americans wearying of lockdowns and other restrictions, the idea of allowing the virus to run its course is gaining a following in some quarters. The U.S. public, meanwhile, is growing ever-skeptical about whether an approved vaccine will be truly safe and effective—and not rushed to serve the president's political agenda. Just half of Americans now say they would get a coronavirus vaccine, Gallup polling released last week found. About 60% of adults are worried the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would rush a vaccine approval due to pressure from the Trump administration, a new Kaiser Family Foundation poll released Tuesday found. And after a monthslong pandemic slog in which virus levels never truly came down nationwide, the long-promised fall surge is now upon us. The U.S. recorded about 69,500 new daily infections late last week, rivaling the summer's peak levels, and nearly 60,000 additional cases on Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University data compiled by Bloomberg. In short, it's another day in virus land, and things are looking dark. Any one of the trends above could prevent the outcome everyone wants: For the coronavirus to stop spreading, sickening and killing people. And with the election two weeks away, that politicization isn't likely to dissipate soon. The virus could feed on our polarization.—Emma Court | 
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